Statements From Joe Lynch (RSF)

Statement 1: FORMER PRIESTS CANNOT BE CALLED FATHER

The use of the word Father to describe priests who have been
convicted of child abuse should be discontinued by the media,
a spokesman for Republican Sinn Fein said today.

Joe Lynch, from Beechgrove Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston in
Limerick, the RSF chairman in the south side of the city said
that the continued use of the term Father for these priests is
an insult to the rest of the clergy.

The fact is a priest who engages in child abuse and who is
convicted by the courts must surely forfeit the respect and
title that goes with his role in society.

A Garda convicted of any criminal offence is referred
to as a former Garda. Surely the same rule should be applied
to priests by the media.

For any man in a position of authority to abuse that
position is bad enough but when it comes to priests
abusing young children who are in their care there
should be no ambiguity about their status.

They have not only broken the criminal law code,
they have tarnished canon law and brought shame
and disgrace on the Catholic church as a whole.

Surely to refer to these convicted men as father
is an abuse of the term and an insult to genuine
and upstanding and law abiding priests who
continue to minister to their followers in these
difficult times for the Church.

It is time that there was an agreed policy by the
media in relation to referring to these convicts
as Father and surely they must be described as
former priests.

Statement 2: NON JURY COURT SHOULD BE RETIRED
The moving of one court from an old building to a new
purpose built complex has been presented as if the non-
jury Special Court has been abolished, a spokesman for
Republican Sinn Fein said today.

Joe Lynch from Beechgrove Avenue in Ballinacurra
Weston in Limerick said the spin put on the move of the
Non Jury Court from Green Street to a new location was
that the practice is ended.

Far from it, in fact the Special Non Jury Court is fully
active and geared against any Republican who is brought
before it, he said.

The Special Court was established in the 1970’s by former
Justice Minister Desmond O’Malley who has since retired
from political life. However his legacy in the Special Non
Jury Court lives on and it is used daily to endeavour to crush
any Republican sentiment or opposition to the Stormont
Agreement.

It is time that this abuse of democracy was also retired
and some degree of fairness restored to the court process
when it comes to Irish Republicanism.

The ongoing attempt to crush the sentiments of Irish
Republicanism by police harassment and intimidation
will fail and unless the root cause of conflict in Ireland
is addressed, there will be continuing opposition to the
British presence.

www.rsflimerick.com or www.rsf.ie